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** The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, 
Come. And let him that is athirst, come." Kev. xxii. 17. 



By REV. A. RITCHIE, 

Author of '• The Christian's Friend," " First Lessons in Theology," 
" Matter and Manner for Christian Workei'5,^>t!LL'^ J'^^n^. 







CINCINJSATI: 

toestern Sratt anh Sook Sockxg. 



1873. 



.IT 5-3 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by 

WESTERN TRACT AND BOOK SOCIETY, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
He is a Divine Being 7 

CHAPTER 11. 
He is a Perfect Man 14 

CHAPTER III. 

He is the Redeemer of his People 21 



CHAPTER ly. 
He is the Advocate of Ms People 26 

CHAPTER V. 
He is the Teacher of his People ... 31 

CHAPTER VI. 
He is the Comforter of his People 36 

CHAPTER VII. 
He is the Protector of his People 40 

CHAPTER VIII. 
He is the Sauctifier of his People 45 

CHAPTER IX. 
He is the Rewarder of his People 49 



CONTENTS. 



-0- 



Pi ^0mt. 



CHAPTER I. 
Its Extent and Beauty 5 

CHAPTER 11. 
Its Security and Stability 11 

CHAPTER III. 
Its Happiness 16 

CHAPTER IV. 
Its Rest 21 



CHAPTEK V. 
Its Enjoyment 26 

CHAPTER VI. 
Its Peace 34 

CHAPTER VII. 
Its Holiness ■ 39 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Its Society. 44 

CHAPTER IX. 
Its Work 51 

CHAPTER X. 
Its Healthfulness « 60 

CHAPTER XI. 
Its Perpetuity 65 

CHAPTER XII. 
Its Glory 69 




Mox. 



CHAPTER I. 



Question, •• What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" Cant. v. 9. 

Answer. He is a divine being. 

fHIS is proved, first, by the works at- 
tributed to him. 
t One of the old heathen philoso- 
phers was convinced that there was a 
God when he reflected on the fact that 
all the men in the world could not make 
a single fly. He reasoned rightly. God 
alone can create! And if so, then my 
Savior is divine, for " by him God made 
the world." Heb. i. 2. ^^All things were 
made by him; and without him was not 

(7) 



MY SAVIOB. 



any thing made that was made/' John 
i. 3. 

More than eighteen hundred years ago, 
objection was made to the doctrine of 
the resurrection of the dead, and the 
question asked, '• How are the dead raised 
up, and with what bodies do they come?" 
and certainly, viewing it fi'om the stand- 
point of human power, the objection is 
well founded — it requires more than hu- 
man power to breathe life into a dead 
body, and more than this is necessary in 
the work of the resurrection. The scat- 
tered dust must be made bone, sinew and 
flesh, and formed into a shapely body, and 
then the life given. ~Who shall say that 
any thing less than divine power can do 
this? If not, then the Savior is- divine, 
"for the hour is coming in the which all 
that are in their graves shall hear his 



MY SAVIOR. 9 

voice, and shall come forth; they that 
have done good, unto the resurrection of 
life; and they that have done evil, unto 
the resurrection of damnation/' 

2, It is proved by the perfections as- 
cribed to him. 

It needs no argument to prove that a 
bucket can not contain the ocean; but 
this is just as reasonable a thing as that 
a finite being can possess the perfections 
of the Infinite One, It is plain, there- 
fore, that my Savior is the Infinite One; 
for the Scriptures declare that ^^ In him 
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead 
bodily.'^ Col. ii. 9. And he is said to 
be ^Hhe power of God, and the wisdom 
of God.'' 1 Cor. 1. 24. 

3. It is proved by the impossibility of 
otherwise accounting for his character. 

That he did no sin, nor was guile found 



10 MY SAVIOR. 

ill his mouth, that he was holy, harmless 
and midefiled, is admitted even by his 
enemies. 'No defect has yet been found 
in his character by those who greatly de- 
sired to find one, but surely this is alto- 
gether inconsistent with his claim (unless 
that claim is allowed). ^'All things that 
the Father hath are mine,'' " The Father 
is in me, and I in him," " He that hath 
seen me, hath seen the Father." If these 
claims are not well founded, the Savior 
was an impostor; if well founded, he was 
what we claim in his behalf — a divine be- 
ing. But his bitterest enemies admit that 
his character was altogether inconsistent 
with his being an impostor. We hold, 
therefore, that our argument is conclusive 
— my Savior is divine. 

4. It is proved by the positive testi- 
mony of Scripture. 



MY SAVIOR. 



11 



The angels are the highest order of 
God's intelligent creatures known to 
men. Several attributes are attributed 
to them, far surpassing those pertaining 
to man; e. g.^ they are said to excel in 
strength. So strong are they, that a sin- 
gle one is said to have slain one hundred 
and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrian 
Host in a single night, and another is 
said to have rolled away the stone from 
the door of the sepulcher of the Savior, 
the size of which troubled some of his 
sorrow^ing friends. Yet God always ad- 
dresses them as servants. ^^And of the 
angels he saith, Who maketh his angels 
spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 
Bat unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O 
God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of 
righteousness is the scepter of thy king- 
dom.'' Heb. i. 7, 8. Surely such Ian- 



12 MY SAVIOR. 

gnage could only be applied to a divine 
being. But we have still another pas- 
sage equally emphatic: ^^ In the begin- 
ning was the Word, and the Word was 
w^ith God, and the Word was GocV^ Sub- 
stitute for the " Word '' the angel Ga- 
briel, and see how it would read. -^ In 
the beginning was the angel Gabriel, and 
the angel Gabriel was with God, and the 
angel Gabriel was God.'' Such an inter- 
pretation is seen at once to be impious 
and absurd. It remains, therefore, that 
the Word was God; very God as he was 
very man, and dwelt among us. And 
these are only a few of the testimonies 
furnished by Scripture to the divinity of 
the Savior; but we regard these as more 
than sufficient, and if we have such a 
Savior, can we doubt that he is able to 
save to the uttermost all that come unto 



MY SAVIOR. 13 

God by him. Can we doubt that he is 
able to keep the soul committed to his 
trust, and at last give it an abundant en- 
trance into his kingdom. Can we doubt 
that he is able to sustain and strengthen 
and comfort his people through all the 
days of their earthly pilgrimage, and 
with his rod and staff comfort them in 
the valley and shadow of death, and at 
last enable them to shout with joyful 
tongue : 

" I shall dwell in the house of the Lord 
forever.'' And if so, kind reader, is it 
any wonder that I should end my answer 
to the inquiry at the head of this article 
with the declaration: 

" lie is the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand," and " altogether lovely." 



CHAPTER II. 




Question, " What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?'' Cant. v. 9. 

Answer. He is a perfect man. 

'cfilfiERE a king to be sent on an em- 
I bassy by several of his fellows to 
treat with some Government on 
matters common to all, he would not 
thereby lose his royal character; he 
would only add to it that of embassa- 
dor. So it was with the Lord Jesus 
Christ. In coming to eai'th he did not 
cease to be God, but added to his God- 
head the nature of man, and now we can 
speak to him as the God-man, or, in an- 
swer to our inquiry, reply he is a perfect 
man! That he was a man, we stop not 
to prove; that he grew in wisdom and 

(14) 



MY SAVIOR. 15 

stature, ate, drank, slept, was weary, etc., 
like other men, is sufficient to establish 
that fact. We are concerned at present 
with the truth of our answer. He was a 
perfect man. And this is proved. 

First: By the fact that he was without 
sin. 

We say of a man noted for piety on 
earth, he is almost perfect. But here we 
have a personage concerning whom we 
can say. He was altogether perfect. For 
more than 1800 years thousands of Sa- 
tan's emissaries, and among them some 
of the acutest minds the world has ever 
seen, have been trying to find a flaw in 
his character, but in vain. Even to this 
day the bitterest opposers of his religion 
admit the fact that " He did no sin, nor 
was guile found in his mouth.'' 

Secondly : It is proved by his obedience. 



16 



MY SAVIOR. 



He was not merely negatively holy — 
i. e.^ without sin — he rendered the obe- 
dience which the law required. As 
briefly stated by an apostle, that law re- 
quired that men ^^be diligent in business, 



fervent in spirit, 



serving 



the Lord, 



?? 



There are many who may be said to be 
diligent in business in this day of bustle 
and enterprise, but have they the fervent 
spirit? Are they in their business serv- 
ing the Lord? Here and there one may 
be found with a fervent spirit — one who 
can be said ^Ho be very jealous for the 
Lord of hosts ; '' but are they fully de- 
voted to the work of the Lord? Has not 
their devotion so much of selfishness in 
it that if they were to speak their feel- 
ings they could repeat the expression, 
^^ Master, we saw one even casting out 
devils in thy name, and he followeth not 



MY SAVIOR. 



17 



US, and we forbade him;" and so much 
of lassitude that the Master could often 
say to them^ ^^What! could you not 
watch with me one hour?" But the 
Savior obeyed all these injunctions. He 
was diligent in business; continually he 
w^ent about doing good to the bodies and 
the souls of men. So fervent in spirit 
that he could say concerning the fiery 
trial — the terrible suffering — that awaited 
him, '' I have a baptism to be baptized 
with; and how am I straitened until it be 
accomplished!" So obedient that when 
the work of God the Father required the 
pouring out of his life's blood he said, 
" Jtfot my will, but thine be done." 

Thirdly : It is proved by the extent of 
his sympathy. 

Selfishness destroys the sympathy of 

the human soul. The selfish Levite 
2 



18 



MY SAYIOR. 



could pass by the poor, woundedj bleed- 
ing man; but the more sympathetic Sa- 
maritan bound up his wounds and cared 
for him. The disciples, weary with the 
himgry multitude in the wilderness, could 
say, " Send them away, that they may 
buy bread; '' but the Savior said, '^ Make 
them sit on the grass,' ^ and then he fed 
them. So it was with those mothers who 
brought their children to the Savior. The 
disciples rebuked them, but he said, " Suf- 
fer little children to come unto me, and 
forbid them not, for of such is the king- 
dom of heaven.'' Well might the apos- 
tle WTite, " We have not an high priest, 
which can not be touched with the feel- 
ing of our infirmities." Our High Priest 
was touched with our sad condition, and 
came from heaven to save us. His sym- 
pathy has no counterpart in the nature 



J 



MY SAVIOR. 19 

of sinful man, and, therefore, it is a proof 
of his perfection. 

Fourthly: It is proved by the fullness 
of his compassion. 

The miser shuts his door against the 
pleading of the poverty-stricken sufferer. 
His love of gold has expelled compassion 
from his heart. It is nothing to him that 
the commandment is, " Love your neigh- 
bor as yourself; '^ or that it is written of 
God, ^^Like as a father pitieth his chil- 
dren, so the Lord pitieth them that fear 
him." There is no pity in his breast. So 
it is with every descendant of Adam; 
some love^ though it may not be the love 
of gold, interferes with the fullness of 
compassion for their suffering fellow- 
men. The strength of that love will 
determine the degree of their compassion; 
but in no case can we say, except in the 



20 MY SAVIOR. 

case of the Savior, there is fulhiess of 
compassion. JN^ot even the loves of 
heaven prevented his pitying ns in onr 
low estate, and yearning with compas- 
sion toward us — for us he left its glories, 
and suffered and died on the accursed tree 
on Calvary, a sacrifice so great that it far 
surpasses the experience of the sinful sons 
of men. Hence this fullness of compassion 
on the part of Christ proves the perfection 
of his character. And if he is thus per- 
fect; being sinless, devoted to well-doing, 
full of sympathy and compassion, such 
as he alone among the sons of men has 
exhibited, what other answer could I give 
to the inquiry at the head of this article 
than the declaration : 

^^He is the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand,'' and " altogether lovely." 



CHAPTER III. 



m 



Question. ''What is thy beloved more than auotlier 
beloved?" Cant. v. 9. 

Answer. He is the Redeemer of his people. 

^ XLY a few years ago, in the southern 
||j portion of our land, thousands of 
men, 'women and children were an- 
nually sold into slavery. It was a sad 
condition, and the poor slaves felt it, and 
sung of, and prayed, and hoped for free- 
dom from their task-masters; and inspired 
with the courage of despair, many of them 
braved the dangers of the way, the threat- 
enings of their masters and the terrors of 
wicked laAVs to escape from their bondage. 
But there is another bondage into which 
men rush, and the service is pronounced 
by them a pleasant work. As the pen 

(21) 



22 MY SAVIOR. 

of inspiration describes it, they sell them- 
selves to do iniqnity, and stranger still 
they grasp their chains so tightly, and so 
devote themselves to their work^ — the ser- 
vice of sin and Satan — that they forget 
that it is a bondage. It is this anomaly 
that made a Redeemer necessary, and 
such a Kedeemer as is my Savior, and 
concerning his work we remark, 

First: The price demanded made the 
work a difficult one. 

The law declared, '' The soul that sin- 
neth, it shall die.'' It being the demand 
of a righteous law, justice could not save 
from the penalty. But difficult as the 
task was, my Savior met its requirement. 
Hence these records — precious to the sin- 
troubled soul — '' Who gave himself for 
us, that he might redeem us from all 
iniquity;'' ^^Feed the Church of God, 



MY SAVIOR. 



23 



which he has purchased with his own 
blood; " ^' Ye are not redeemed with cor- 
ruptible things, as silver and gold, . . . • 
but with the precious blood of Christ." 

Secondly: 'No one else could pay the 
price demanded. 

The cattle on a thousand hills are not 
of value sufficient to redeem a soul. Its 
Creator asserts that it is w^orth more than 
the entife world, and it is just as true 
that no man can redeem his brother, or 
give to God a ransom for his soul. So 
far from having this ability, all are in- 
volved in the same ruin, and equally need 
a Redeemer, with the single exception of 
my Savior, who came into the world, not 
by ordinary generation, but in a way de- 
scribed as " the mystery of Godliness " — 
through God he manifested himself in the 
flesh— thus putting himself under the 



24 



MY SAVIOR. 



law that he might redeem them that are 
under the law, and procure for them the 
adoption of sons. Thus he alone, of all 
the sons of men, had power to redeem, 
and in consequence of this there is no 
discordant voice around the throne in 
heaven when the song is sung, ^'Thou 
hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." 
Oh, that our world's population had their 
voices attuned to sing the same song on 
earth. It was a noble saying of the Ar- 
menian queen to her husband, who had 
offered his life for her ransom: ^^I really 
did not observe Cyrus, my mind was so 
occupied with the man who offered to 
give his life for my ransom that I could 
think of no other; '' and this same policy 
of admiring gratitude does, and should^ 
fill the Christian's heart for his Savior, 
and prompts him to answer the question, 



MY SAVIOR. 



25 



" What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" with the declaration: 

'- My beloved is the chiefest among ten 
thousand/^ and '^ altogether lovely.'' 




CHAPTER IV. 



QicsHoR. *' Whit is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" Cant. v. 9. 

Answer. He is the Advocate of his people. 

|1E are criminals, condemned for the 
°^ violation of God's holy law, and 

^ need an Advocate to secure our 
pardon. Indeed, Satan himself, who 
tempted our first parents, and is still en- 
gaged in the nefarious work of tempting 
their posterity, is an " accuser of the 
brethren." There is truth in the vision 
which Zechariah saw, viz: Joshua, the 
high priest, standing before the angel of 
the Lord, and Satan standing at his right 
hand, to resist or accuse him. And, 
worse than all, the accusation is just. "We 
have sinned against God, and deserve the 

(26) 



MY SAVIOR. 27 

wrath and curse of the broken law. Aye, 
more, the sentence of condemnation has 
been pronounced against us: ^'He that 
belieyeth not in the only begotten Son of 
God is condemned already." But Ave are 
not without hope. There is an Advocate 
able to secure a pardon. Blessed truth: 
^^If any man sin, we have an Advocate 
with Grod the Father, Jesus Christ the 
righteous." There is only one Advocate 
in the court of heaven, i^o one but Je- 
sus Christ the righteous is permitted or 
qualified to plead there; but his word is 
always heard. ^^Him the Father heareth 
always." Ilis plea is always successful. 
He can point to the Avounds in his side, 
the mark of the nails in his hand, and 
ask, not for the sake of his clients, but 
for his own sake, that they may be par- 
doned, and the case is never doubtful. 



28 



MY SAVIOR. 



He can say, " I will that they be with me 
wiiere I am, that they may behold my 
glory.-' 

True, he can not deny the justice of 
the charge brought against them, but he 
can say : I was wounded for their trans- 
gressions, bruised for their iniquities: the 
chastisement of then- peace was upon 
me; and with my stripes they are healed. 
Isa. liii. 5. 

How different from earthly advocates! 
Many of them often plead with eloquent 
tongue in behalf of their clients, but 
none have ever paid the penalty due their 
transgression, that their clients might be 
saved from it. Much less have any of 
them chosen it as their work to secure 
pardon for the poor condemned trans- 
gressor. But our Advocate chose this 
work, and was specially set apart to it. 



I 



MY SAVIOR. 29 

Hence his designation, '' Jesus " — a 
Savior. '' He shall save his people from 
their sins." And not only from the de- 
filement of their sin, but also from the 
penalty of their sin. And so he not only 
poured out his soul unto death to satisfy 
the demands of justice, and thus maintain 
the honor of God's holy law; but he is 
ever ready to intercede at the right hand 
of God, that the transgressor may be 
pardoned, accepted and saved. Blessed 
work! And he is so fully committed to 
it that it can be said, '^He ever liveth to 
make intercession for us." Heb. vii. 25. 
And so his trusting people can sing: 

" Jesus, my great Iligli Priest, 
Offered his blood, and died; 
My guilty conscience seeks 
No sacrifice beside — 
His powerful blood did once atone, 
And now it pleads before the throne. ^^ 



30 



MY SAVIOR. 



Is it any wonder that when the ques- 
tion is asked, ^^What is thy beloved more 
than another beloved?'' the response 
comes back from his clients : My Savior 
is the Advocate of his people — " The 
chief est among ten thousandy^^ and " alto- 
gether lovely? '' 




CHAPTER V. 



Question. " What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" Cant. v. 9. 

Answer. He is the Teacher of his people. 

-^LL mankind are sufferers because of 
their ignorance. They are described 
by an apostle, as those " Having the 
understanding darkened, being alienated 
from the life of God through the igno- 
rance that is in them, because of the 
blindness of their heart/' Just as the 
savage would throw away a diamond as 
readily as a piece of glass, because igno- 
rant of its value; so we in our ignorance 
have rejected the ^^Life of God/' which 
fills the soul with peace, joy and hope. 
But this ignorance can be removed by 
the Savior. In him dwell treasures of 
wisdom and knowledge, and he can open 

(31) 



32 MY SAVIOR. 

our eyes to see and our minds to receive 
the truth. Indeed, we can not see him 
aright and not behold the character of 
God beaming in his countenance. This 
was the experience of the Apostle Paul; 
hence his declaration, ^^For God, who 
commanded the light to shine out of dark- 
ness, hath shined in our hearts to give 
the light of the knowledge of the glory 
of God in the face of Jesus Christ J^ So 
true it is that he is the Teacher of his 
people. 

He teaches them in various ways: 
!• He reveals to them the will of God. 
^^All things that I have heard of my Father 
I have made known unto you/' is his own 
declaration; as also, ^^ I am the light of 
the world. He that followeth me shall 
not walk in darkness.'^ And how fully 
the history of the world corroborates the 



MY SAVIOR. 33 

truth of these declarations is well known. 
Where the Ught of the blessed Savior 
has shined, the darkness of heathenism 
has been dispelled, and the world has re- 
joiced in the light of the arts and the 
sciences, and in the enjoyment of civil 
and reUgious freedom. On the contrary, 
where that light has never shined, dark- 
ness covers the earth and gross darkness 
the people, and these " dark places of the 
earth are the habitations of cruelty." 

2. He teaches them by the enlighten- 
ing influences of the Holy Spirit. 

By this influence he opens the blind 
eyes to perceive the truth, so that his peo- 
ple see wondrous things in God's law. 
^ Aye, that law which they once in their 
i^^rnorance hated is now so seen bv them 
that they can say, ^-How sweet are thy 

words unto my taste; yea, sweeter than 
3 



34 



MY SAVIOR. 



honey to my mouth/' Yes, and the 
Savior who appeared to them as a root 
out of a dry ground, without form and 
comeliness, now is seen by them as the 
" Brightness of the Father's glory, and 
the express image of his person; '' and so 
deep is the impression made upon their 
hearts by his glory and his beauty, that 
whatever other knowledge may be effaced 
this forever remains. When Bishop Bev- 
eridge was dying, one of his intimate 
friends asked him if he knew him, but he 
had forgotten the formerly well-known 
countenance. His wife then asked him 
if he knew her; but she, too, had ftided 
from his memory- Some one then asked. 
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? To 
which he replied, ^^ Jesus Christ? O yes! 
I have known him for forty years — pre- 
cious Savior! he is my only hope/' And 



MY SAVIOR, 35 

this is the experience of his people in 
every age — his beauty, his glory and his 
power can not be eflfaced from their mem- 
ory. They can always sing: 

"E'er since by faith I saw the stream 
Thy flowing wounds supply, 
Redeeming love has been my theme. 
And shall be till I die." 

Hence, if we ask the question at the 
head of this article, they are ready to re- 
spond, '^My Savior is the Teacher of his 
people; ' the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand,' and ' altogether lovely.' " 



CHAPTER VI. 



Question. "What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" Cant.^v. 9. 

Answer, He is the Comforter of his people. 

P^AID an old writer: ^^ There are many 
W^ sons of sorrow! " Aye, every one of 
"^ the clcscencUmts of Adam belongs to 
this class. But there is only one truly 
entitled to the designation, ^^ Son of con- 
solation; " only one concerning Avhom it 
can be truly said, ^' Thy comforts delight 
my soul;" but that one is the '^Blessed 
Savior." And he is fully qualified to min- 
ister comfort to sorrow-stricken hearts; 
for he was himself a man of sorroAVs and 
acquainted with grief; and it was pre- 
dicted of him that '' He would not break 
the bruised reed nor quench the smoking 

(36) 



MY SAVIOR. 



37 



flax; " butj on the contrary, that he would 
" bind up the broken-hearted," and " ap- 
point unto them that mourn in Zion, 
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourn- 
ing, and the garment of praise for the 
spirit of heaviness." And the experi- 
ence of God's people in all ages agrees 
with Rutherford, that it is a desirable 
thing to be sick, because it brings the 
Savior to the bedside; or, as another ex- 
presses it: " The bitterness of sorrow is 
worth enduring, to have his promised 
consohitions." It is most true that as 
our afllictions abound, so do his consola- 
tions. Friends on earth can not always 
reach the source of our sorrow. Like 
Job's comforters, they can only stand in 
silence before the deeply stricken, but 
they may not be able to remove the sor- 
row. But this is not the case with the 



38 



MY SAYIOR. 



Lord Jesus Christ. There is no sorrow 
too great for him to remove. If the bur- 
den of sin is pressing upon the lieart of 
some poor sinner, and, like Bunyan, 
driving him to despair, he can whisper 
to his heart by the Holy Spirit, ^^My 
grace is sufficient for you," and light and 
joy will fill the troubled soul. 

If some crushing temporal sorrow is 
pressing its heavy weight upon some of 
his people, like Job, he enables them to say 
" The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken 
away; blessed be the name of the Lord." 
If some bodily aflSiction has fallen to the 
lot of his followers, and they are called 
to endure imprisonment and death, he 
can, as in the case of Paul and Silas, en- 
able them to sing songs in their prison- 
house, and, like the Scottish martyr, to 
rejoice that in a few hours he could lay 



MY SAVIOR. 



39 



his head on the block, and thus so soon 
reach his Savior; or, like the boy-martyr 
of Asia, enable them to say, " "Weep not; 
you should rather rejoice; you know not 
what a city I am going to/' 

Yes, troubled soul, whatever may be 
the nature of your sorrow, the Savior 
can so pour in the oil of consolation that 
you will remember it no more, but be en- 
abled to say with a sufferer long since in 
glory: ^^ "We glory also in tribulations.'' 
And with such an experience, is it to be 
wondered at that the reply is heard to the 
question, "What is thy beloved? etc.. He 
is the Comforter of his people? 



CHAPTER VII. 



Question. *' What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" Cant. v. 9. 

Answer. He is the Protector of his people. 

if^EREj in this sin-stricken worlds the 
people of God are tempest-tossed. 
They are exposed to suffering and 
death itself. Troubled on every side, but 
they are not distressed; persecuted, but 
not forsaken; cast down, but they are not 
destroyed — for they have an Almighty 
Protector, and he has given them his 
promise : " When thou passest through 
the waters, I will be vfith thee; and 
through the rivers, they shall not over- 
flow thee : w^hen thou walkest through 
the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither 
shall the flame kindle upon thee.'^ 

(40) 



BIY SAVIOR. 41 I 

And how well be has fulfilled this \ 
promise the history of his people shows. 
If we apply it to temporal blessings, then 
we have the Psalmist's declaration: ''I 
have been young, and now am old; yet 
have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor 
his seed beofoino- bread." Just as he saved 
the Jews in Persia by taking away sleep 
from the eyes of King Ahasuerus, and 
turning- his thonorhts to the chronicles of 
the kingdom, so in a thousand ways and 
times he has made his people experience 
the truth of his promise: '' The steps of 
a good man are ordered by the Lord, and 
he delighteth in his way. Though he 
fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; 
for the Lord upholdeth him with his 
hand.'' 

Daniel had the decree of the king and 
the nobles of the Persian Empire against 



42 



MY SAVIOR. 



him, and was cast into the den of ]ions; 
but even there the Savior's strong arm 
could reach and protect hun. The three 
childi'en were cast into a seven times 
heated furnace, and the flames leaped on 
the strong men selected to cast them in 
and destroyed them; but the arm of their 
Protector could reach them even there, 
and it did, and not a hair of their head 
was singed. The promise was literally 
fulfilled: ^' The flames shall not kindle 
upon thee." 

And if Ave apply the promise to spir- 
itual blessings, we have still more abun- 
dant illustrations of the faithfulness of 
the Promiser. Satan, the enemy of souls, 
was lying in wait for poor Peter, but he 
did not escape the watchful eye of the 
" Keeper of Israel," and it instantly 
brought the interceding Savior to his aid. 



MY SAVIOR. 43 

" I have prayed for thee, that thy faith 
fail not/' and Peter was safe. And in 
the same way he saves his people still. 
The enemy of their souls may rise up to 
accuse them, but instantly their Savior 
appears in their behalf, and the voice is 
heard: ^^The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan! 
even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusa- 
lem rebuke thee: is not this a brand 
plucked out of the fire? " And the op- 
poser ceases his opposition and slinks 
away. That voice which could have 
brought instantly legions of angels to 
his side on earth, if he had chosen to 
call them, is always efficient to deliver 
those for whom it is used on the throne 
of his glory. And, indeed, so confident 
do his people feel regarding the ability 
of the Savior to protect them that they 
are frequently heard at the end of their 



44 



MY SAVIOR. 



journey declaring in the words of the 
apostle : " I am persuaded that he is able 
to keep that which I have committed to 
his trust against that day.'' h\ view of 
such flicts, is it any wonder that they re- 
ply to the inquiry^ What is thy beloved 
more than another beloved? He is the 
Protector of his people; ^^ The chiefest 
among ten thousand/' and "altogether 
lovely?" 




CHAPTER VIII. 



Question. "What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" Cant. V. 9. 

Answer. He is the Sanctifier of his people. 

Jj|j|HAT Christian has not put up often- 
^^ times the prayer of the Psahuist, 
^^ ''Wash me thoroughly from mine in- 
iquity, and cleanse me from my sin? " It 
is said that Cranmer, when led to the 
stake which was to consume his body, 
thi*ust his right hand into the fire, because 
it had signed a recantation. This is the 
way the Christian often feels; as the 
Prophet expresses it, ''He loathes him- 
self in his own sight for his sins and his 
iniquities/' Just as they make progress 
heavenward, and have the light of God's 
countenance shining upon them, in the 

(45) 



46 



MY SAVIOR. 



same degree do they see and feel sin to 
be exceeding sinful, and long to be free 
from its power. Often do they speak, as 
Paul did, of the law in their members 
warring against the law of then" mind, 
and bringing them into captivity to the 
law of sin and death; and so oppressed 
do they sometimes feel by its power, that 
they are heard to cry out, " O wretched 
man that I am, who shall deliver me?'' 
They can sympathize with the plaint of 
an old Christian when he said: ^' O sin, 
thou hast cursed us; thou hast thrown up 
a barrier between ourselves and God, 
With thy chilling breath thou hast ex- 
tinguished the light of our household 
joys; thou hast unstrung our hopes and 
filled the air with discordant cries; thou 
hast unsheathed the sword, and bathed it 
in human blood; thou hast dug every 



" 



MY SAVIOR. 47 

grave in the bosom of the fair earth; but 
for thee we should not have known the 
name of widow or orphan, tear and sigh, 
sorrow and death." But they are not 
without hope. Here is a precious prom- 
ise of our Savior: ^^I will sprinkle clean 
water upon you, and ye shall be clean; 
from all your filthiness and from all your 
idols will I cleanse you." 

The struggle against sin will have an 
end. There is a heaven of holiness for 
the redeemed of the Lord, and when they 
think of it, they often burst forth in the 
exclamation: ^^ Oh, it is a heaven worth 
dying for, to be free from sin!" They 
long to be there, where they can sing, 
" Unto him that loved us and washed us 
from our sins in his blood;" and even 
now, when they meditate on this glorious 
theme, they are so filled with gratitude, 



^ 



48 



MY SAYIOR. 



that if any one asks thera the question, 
" What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" they will at once reply, ^^He 
is the Sanctifier of his people; ' the chief- 
est among ten thousand/ and ' altogether 
lovely.' '' 




I 



CHAPTER IX. 




Question. "What is thy beloved more than another 
beloved?" Cant. v. 9. 

Answer. He is the Rewarder of his people. 

ililHAT wonderful things have been ac- 
complished by men stimulated by 
the hope of reward! Sometimes it 
was the hope of wealth, at another time 
fame, and at another position or power. 
Worthless objects, and probably often 
sought with unworthy motives; but, nev- 
ertheless, efficient in animating men to 
deeds of daring, if not of heroism, to se- 
cure them. 

There are, however, rewards which it is 
proper to seek, and such a thing as seek- 
ing them with right motives. Hence, it 
is written concerning the Savior: « Who 
4 

(49) 



50 MY SAVIOR. 

for the joy that was set before him en- 
dured the cross, despising the shame. ^' 
The hope of a proper reward is, there* 
fore, a proper impelling force; and, if so. 
Christians may well devote themselves 
with diligence to the work of the Lord; 
for their Savior is the Rewarder of his 
people. 

It is said that Dionysius the tyrant or- 
dered certain musicians to play before 
him, with the promise of large rewards, 
but when they asked their reward, he 
told them the hope of receiving it which 
they had enjoyed was itself sufficient re- 
ward; but this is not the way my Savior 
rewards his people. When assembled 
before him to receive their hoped-for re- 
ward, he will say to them: '^ Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
dom prepared for you/' Their hope will 



MY SAVIOB. 51 

never be disappointed. It was Peter's 
confidence that, when tlie great Shepherd 
should appear, we " shall receive a crown 
of glory that fadeth not away." ISTot an 
earthly crown, which might slip from 
our grasp in a few days or years, but one 
that would forever abide. 

Here the people of God may often go 
with sad countenance and a mourning 
heart, but by and by they shall hear the 
voice of their Savior say: " Enter ye into 
the joy of your Lord." Here they may 
be called to endure and suffer scourgings, 
bonds, imprisonment, and even death, 
but it is only that they may experience 
the truth of that blessed declaration: 
" Our light aflfliction, which is for a mo- 
ment, worketh for us a far more exceed- 
ing and eternal weight of glory." Aye, 
more than that — they remember that he 



52 



MY SAVIOR. 



has said: ^^To him tliat overcometh will 
I grant to sit with me in my throne, even 
as I also overcame, and am set down with 
my Father in his throne." 'No wonder 
when they meditate on these precious 
promises, that they can return no other 
answer to the inquiry, " What is thy be- 
loved more than another beloved?" but 
the word: " He is the E-ewarder of his 
people; ^the chiefest among ten thou- 
sand,' and ' altogether lovely.' " 




CHAPTER I. 



ITS EXTENT AND BEAUTY. 



"For te looked for a city which hath foundations, 
whose builder and maker is God." Heb. xi. 10. 

^^ES, dear friend, I may appear to you 
poor, helpless and forsaken ; but then 
yon must know that I am here only a 
pilgrim and a stranger (Heb. xi. 13)^ pass- 
ing through to my inheritance and my 
home. I may seem to you a beggar clothed 
in rags, but in reality I am a King's son 
(1 Cor. yi. 18) and heir of a crown that 
fadeth not away. 1 Pet. v. 4. True, 
while here I am needy and dependent, 
and daily have to cry: 

(5) 



MY HOME. 



" Dear Jesus, lead me by the hand, 
Through this sin-struck, desert land — 
To my kingdom and the home 
Thou hast purchased for thine owny 

But by and by I shall in safety stand ac- 
cepted before my Father, and receive 
from his hand my crown. 2 Tim. iv. 8. 
And inasmuch as this glorious inherit- 
ance may also be yours (John i. 12), I 
desire to tell you all that I know about 
it, that you may be incited to seek to ob- 
tain it. And first, let me tell you of its 

EXTEN^T AND BEAUTY. 

It is not a small territory, where only 
a few can reside and find congenial em- 
ployment, or where, after a few days' sur- 
vey, no new beauty can delight the eye. 
On the contrary, we know that there, 
myriads of angels and myriads of the re- 
deemed find room to live and labor in the 



MY HOME. 



service of their divine Creator; yes, and 
room for enjoyment too, for at God's 
right hand there is " fuUness of joy." As 
the ScTvior declares, it is a house with 
" many mansions; " and John saw in vis- 
ion (Rev. xxi.) that it was a city measur- 
ing twelve thousand furlongs broad, wide, 
and high. And although we are not to 
understand this description as literal, yet 
it was intended to impress on our minds 
the great extent of the city of God. 
What the servant said to the master of 
the feast, in the parable of the Great Sup- 
per, is indeed true of heaven : " Yet 
there is room." 

JSTor does it lack in elements of beauty. 
In the vision already alluded to, we are 
told that " the building of the wall of it 
was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, 
like unto clear glass. And the foundations 



8 MY HOME. 

of the wall of the city were garnished with 
all manner of precious stones . . . 
and the twelve gates were twelve pearls; 
every several gate was of one pearl, and 
the street of the city was pure gold, as 
it were transparent glass/' 

These are, of course, figures, but in- 
tended, if they have any meaning at all, 
to impress upon our minds the exceeding 
beauty of the Heavenly Jerusalem. We 
do not wonder that the Psalmist urged 
pilgrims heavenward to ^'Walk about 
Zion, and go round about her: tell the 
towers thereof. Mark ye well her bul- 
warks, that ye may tell it to the genera- 
tion following." Ps. xlviii. 12, 13. ^or 
do we wonder that Christian poets have 
sung of it in words like the following: 

^'Thy Father's house, thine own bright home, 
And thou hast there a place for me ; 



MY HOME. 9 

Thougli yet an exile here I roam, 
That distant home by faith I see. 

I see its domes resplendent glow, 

Where beams of God's own glory fall, 

And trees of life immortal grow, 

Whose fraits o'erhang the sapphire wall." 

Yes, God did not implant the ability 
to appreciate and enjoy the beautiful in 
our natures without providing for its ex- 
ercise. Even here in this sin-stricken 
world how many scenes of beauty delight 
the eye! — much more may we expect to 
see beauty in the sin-unclouded kingdom 
above. Here we see through a glass 
darkly, but by and by we shall see and 
know what is the hope of our calling, and 
what are the riches and glory of our in- 
heritance. Eph. i. 18. 

Dear friend, do you not wish to become 
an heir of this glorious inheritance? If 
so, let me whisper in your ear: "^ To as 



10 



MY HOME. 



many as received him, to them gave he 
power to become the sons of God." And 
if sons, then heirs — heirs of God and 
joint-heirs with Christ. 




CHAPTER II. 



ITS SECURITY AND STABILITY. 



*'No lion shall be there." Isa. xxxv. 9. ^*An in- 
heritance incorruptible." 1 Pet. i. 4. 

'^j^HEKE lions run at large^ there is 
^t|P danger — life is insecure. When 
^ possessions are corruptible, they 
soon fade away, and that once so highly 
valued becomes a worthless thing. But 
this is not the case with the " inheritance 
above.'' There are no lion and no cor- 
ruption there. How different from earth- 
ly possessions! These often appear pleas- 
ant, safe and seciu^e to the eye, but when 
the traveler passes over them, he finds 
them full of snares and pitfalls. And 
though its foundations may appear as if 
built on a rock, yet they are all transient. 

(11) 



12 MY HOME. 

Gourds of beauty and of comfort often 
grow up in a night, but just as often 
they vanish in a night, and leave their 
former possessor to say with the wise 
man: ^^ Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.'' 
And this is just what we might expect 
in a sin-stricken world. Like a worm 
at the root of a tree, withering its leaves, 
rotting its branches, and making them 
liable to fall and crush the passer-by, sin 
has blighted and rotted, and written in- 
security on all the possessions of earth. 
It is said that when Phocus built a 
strong wall around his palace for his 
own security, in the night-time he heard 
a voice crying: " O Emperor, though thou 
build thy wall as high as the clouds, yet 
if sin be within it, it will overthrow all.'' 
Yes, wherever sin is, there wasting and 
destruction are written. Hence, we are 



MY HOME. 13 

not astonished that God says to his peo- 
ple : " Set your affections on things above^ 
not on thing;\s on the earth. '^ As Rather- 
ford used to say, " Tlie forests are given 
to the fire, and it is not wise to build nests 
in them.*' Hence the flict that in every 
a£>'e Grod's children have confessed that 
they were strangers and pilgi^ims in the 
earth, and that they sought a better coun- 
try, even an heavenly. They know that 
once there, they would be beyond danger 
— perfect security would be their lot, for 
" 1^0 lion shall be there, nor any ravenous 
beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be 
found there; but the redeemed shall walk 
there. '^ They know, too, that once in 
possession of this blessed inheritance, it 
would not perish Avith the using; for it is 
^^ an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, 
and Avhich fadeth not away.'' 



14 MY HOME. 

Yes, it is most true that ^* my inherit- 
ance '^ is not only large in extent and very 
beautiful, it is also secure and stable; and 
so, while it has cost me many a struggle 
to obtain it — " for the kingdom of heaven 
suffereth violence, and the violent take it 
by force;'' yes, struggles with Satan when 
I began to feel my need of a Savior, and 
struggles with the law when it began as a 
schoolmaster to bring me to Christ — but 
I feel persuaded that one day's possession 
of this inheritance will more than repay 
for all the cross-bearing and the conflict 
that have been mine. And so, fellow- 
sinner, I want you to join me in my jour- 
ney to ^' my inheritance/' It is the only 
possession worth making an effort to ob- 
tain; for it is the only one on which we 
can write, secure and stable. Hence, the 
pilgrims sing: 



MY HOME. 15 

"Earth, sin-stricken, is dreary, 
And full of woe and blio-ht ; 
But heaven has life and safety, 
And skies forever bright. 

"Earth and all its grandeur flies, 
It food for fire shall be ; 
Heaven in lasting beauty shines 
Throughout eternity." 




CHAPTER III. 



ITS HAPPINESS. 



" The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the peo- 
ple that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniqui- 
ty." Isa. xxxiii. 24. 

^I]Sr and its consequent sorrow are ev- 
mj erywhere found on earth. Here ev- 
*^ eiy inhabitant can say^ ^^I am sick/' 
and just because all the dwellers have 
committed iniquity; but their sinfulness 
and their sujQfering are not adapted to 
their original nature, hence the unrest 
which accompanies it. They were cre- 
ated for enjoyment. It is most true that 
^^ Man's chief end is to glorify God and 
enjoy him foreverr And this being the 
end for which he was created, just as 
certain as the needle turns to the pole, so 

(16) 



MY HOME. 17 

does man seek happiness, True^ lie often 
mistakes in the objects where he expects 
to find it — he often seeks it in >Yealth5 in 
places of honor or power among his fel- 
low-men, or in the applause of the multi- 
tude, and just as often he finds that it is 
not there. No\ " Happiness is not here " 
is written on everything pertaining to 
earth. 

A thousand worldly objects promise 
happiness, and many have been alhired 
by their various voices to seek after them 
in order that they might find it; but the 
result is, the bubble burst in their grasp, 
or the beautiful rose pierced the hand 
that would pluck it with its thorns, and 
" vanity of vanities, all is vanity," is uni- 
versally found to be the proper verdict 
for the possessions of earth. But the 

happiness of heaven, the inheritance of 

2 



18 MY HOME. 

the saintSj is real, satisfying and endur- 
ing. 

It is real. Hence such declarations as 
the following: " Blessed are they that do 
his commandments, that they may have 
a right to the tree of life, and that they 
may enter in through the gates into the 
city.'' Hence, also, the fullness of the 
figures used to describe the happiness of 
this glorious inheritance. It is called a 
paradise^ a Jcingdom^ a crown of glory ^ a 
Father^ s liouse^ mansions^ a hetter coun- 
try^ a rest; and, as if language were im- 
potent to describe its beauty and bliss, it 
is said: '^ Bye hath not seen, ear hath not 
heard, nor hath it entered into the heart 
of man, what Grod hath prepared for them 
that love him." Most true it is that there 
are no bubbles and no thorns in the in- 
heritance above. 



MY HOME. 19 

It is also satisfying. It is the very 
kind of pleasure we were created to en- 
joy; hence, it does not pall upon the taste, 
nor does conscience upbraid when we en- 
joy it, and, more than this, the measure is 
equal to our desire — there is not only joy, 
but fullness of joy, in the presence of 
God, There is no sin there, and, as a 
consequence, the rose is without a thorn, 
music without a discord, summer with- 
out winter, and day without night. Its 
pleasures never satiate. 

They are also enduring. The pleasures 
of earth, like its riches, take to themselves 
wings and fly away. They are ours but 
for a day; but it is not so with the hap- 
piness of heaven. At God's right hand 
there are not only pleasures, but pleas- 
ures forevermore. It is declared to be 
part of the work of our divine Mediator 



20 MY HOME. 

to secure to the saints the eternal iiiheiit- 
ance. Heb. ix. 15. So that once in pos- 
session^ there will be no trouble about 
hisecure deeds or lawsuits to eject the 
possessors — it will be ours forever. No 
wonder that travelers thitherward sing- 
as they journey on: 

^' Heaven is the land where tronbles cea&e^ 
Where toils and tears are o'er; . 
The blissful clime of rest and peace. 
Where cares distract no more. 
And not the shadow of distress 
Dims its unsullied blessedness. 

"Heaven is the dwelling-place of joy^ 
The home of light and love; 
Where faith and hope in rapture die, 
And ransomed souls above 
Enjoy before the eternal throne 
Bliss everlasting and unknown." 

Reader, will you join the blessed com- 
pany of those traveling to this place of 
everlasting blessedness? 



CHAPTER IV, 



ITS REST. 



" There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of 
God." Heb. iV. 9. 

fl^HIS earth is a place of labor and toil. 
||| Thousands of years ago the sentence 
>*" was pronounced: ^^In the sweat of 
thy face shalt thou eat bread;" and the 
world's history shows that from that very 
day limbs have been on the rack^ fingers 
playing, feet plodding, lohis aching, brows 
sweating, brains drooping, hearts break- 
ing, and minds hoping, fearing and wear- 
ily planning. But though this is the law 
and the fact in this sin-stricken planet, I 
am not discouraged; for this is not my 
home. Here I have no abiding place and 
no lasting possession; my inheritance is 

(21) 



MY HOME. 



above^ and there there remains a rest to 
all God's people, and I want to tell you 
something about that glorious rest. 

1st. It is a rest at home. — In our days 
of sickness here, we have often had the 
opportunity of seeking rest for our weary, 
feverish head on a hospital bed; but no 
kind, sympathizing hand smoothed our 
pillow, or bathed our aching temples, or 
cheered us by hopeful words, and so we 
turned restlessly on the bed, in the even- 
ing saying: ^^ Would God it were morn- 
ing! " and in the morning, " "Would God 
it were evening!'' and all the time think- 
ing if we were only at home, surrounded 
by loving friends, then we could rest; 
but it was only a hospital — how could I 
rest? ]N^ow, heaven is not a hospital, fit- 
ted up for the use of those who have been 
sorely wounded in the battle-field of life 



MY HOME. 23 

— it is our Father's house, and there we 
rest at home; for God has said: '' I will 
be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my 
sons and daughters, saith the Lord Al- 
mighty.'' And so, as we journey thither, 
w^e can sing: 

*'Iii the Christian's home in glory. 
There remains a land of rest*, 
There my Savior's gone before me, 
To fulfill my soul's request. 

There is rest for the weary. 
There is rest for you ; 
In the sweet fields of Eden, 
'Where the tree of life is blooming, 
There is rest for you.'* 

There, weary workers, you will not 
have to toil under a burning sun : " For 
the city had no need of the sun, neither 
of the moon to shine in it; for the glory 
of Grod did lighten it, and the Lamb is 
the light thereof." Labor and toil are 



24 MY HOME. 

words unknown in heaven, but rest is a 
familiar sound. 

2d. It is a rest forever, — The hmited 
rest we have on earth is often fitful, and 
often broken by the knowledge that to- 
morrow the conflict must begin again. 
The soldier after his weary march may be 
so tired that he can lie down and rest on 
the cold ground. He needs no downy 
pillow on which to court repose; but, 
even in his case, dreams of the bugle 
sounding for to-morrow's carnage inter- 
rupt his slumber and steal away his rest. 
But in the home above there are no more 
battles to fight. Here the last battle is 
fought and the victory won. There the 
palm is carried and the crown of victory 
worn, and rest forever enjoyed, and nev- 
ermore will be seen the banner of the en- 
emy daring us to tl e combat, and our 



MY HOME. 25 

song shall be: ^^ Thanks be unto God 
who giveth ns the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ.'' 

Dear reader, we want you to enjoy this 
rest. There is no other worth having — 
no other abiding — and you can have it. 
Hear the Savior's own invitation: " Come 
unto. me all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I loill give you rest.^^ Accept 
this offer — then, whatever may be your 
daily toils and trials, at evening-time you 



can sing: 



^'One sweetly solemn thouglit 
Comes to me o'er and o'er — 
I'm nearer home to-day 
Than e'er I've been before — 
Nearer my Father's throne, 
Nearer my roit at Jiome.^^ 



CHAPTER V. 



ITS ENJOYMENT. 



'^Id thy presence there is fullness of joy; at thy 
right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Ps. 
xvi. 11. 

§l!^ old writer has well said: ^^ Fullness 
of joy can not be obtained here; for 
^^ no earthly pleasure is sufficient to fill 
the soul's capacity." And this is most 
true; for the soul was made to enjoy God, 
and nothing less will fully satisfy its crav- 
ings. 

Men often deceive themselves, imagin- 
ing that they can have enjoyment in the 
possession of this and that other earthly 
good; but it is no sooner obtained than 
they find that, like a bubble, it has col- 
lapsed in their grasp, and the soul re- 

(26) 



MY HOME. 27 

mains still unsatisfied, so true it is that 
nowhere now, but in the home above, is 
there fullness of joy. In what this joy 
consists we can not now fully know; but 
here and there in the " Will of God/' by 
which he makes over this glorious inher- 
itance to his people, we have hints sug- 
gesting the blessedness of the inhabitants 
of heaven. We notice the characteris- 
tics suggested by a few of them. 

1st. Heaven's inhahitants will he free 
from sin. — Over its pearly gates are 
written: " I*^othing unclean shall enter; " 
" "Without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord.'' Here sin is a burden, and we 
might say, " The troubler of God's peo- 
ple." They often complain, " There is a 
law in my members warring against the 
law of my mind, and bringing me into 
captivity to the law of sin and deaths" 



28 MY HOME. 

and they sigh to be free from its power. 
Aye, even with a despairing heart they 
often cry, ^'Who shall deliver me?'' And 
the thought that they will be free from 
this serpent's trail, and no longer subject 
to its poisoning influence, makes them 
oftentimes burst forth in the exclamation: 
" Oh, it is a heaven worth dying for to 
be free from sin! '^ 

2d. There is no sorrow there. — As one 
of the old writers quaintly said: ^^ God 
had one Son without sin, but no son with- 
out sorrow." The first human spirit that 
ever ascended from our earth to heaven 
went from a body mangled by his brother 
Cain's murderous hand, and every suc- 
ceeding one has been able to testify that 
the law is still in force : " Through much 
tribulation ye shall enter the kingdom/' 
There is not a single pilgrim that has 



MY HOME. 29 

ever traveled heavenward but who has 
bedewed his path with tears, and no hu- 
man hand can dry them. Sin and sorrow 
are linked together b}^ the law of God; 
but when the inheritance above is reached, 
" God will wipe the tear from every eye." 
^^Sin, sorrow and suffering shall forever 
flee away,'^ 

3d. The society in heaven will he con- 
genial. — From whatever portion of the 
world they come, and no matter what 
their nationality may be, they will sit 
down in the kingdom with Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob (Matt. viii. 11), and en- 
joy sweet communion. Here the people 
of God can sometimes sing: ^^I was glad 
when they said unto me, Let us go into 
the house of the Lord." Their hearts 
are also sometimes knit together, as were 
those of David and Jonathan; and yet 



30 MY HOME. 

they at other times differ in their vision, 
and withstand each other to the face, as 
Pan! did Peter. Then, too, they see de- 
fects in each other's character^ and it 
mars their enjoyment and greatly inter- 
rupts their communion with each other. 
But in the home above these defects of 
vision and character are all cured; they 
see and know as they are seen and known. 
And^ above all^ they will enjoy the pres- 
ence of their blessed Master, and that 
itself will make heaven a delightsome 
place. That constituted its attraction 
for the Apostle Paul : "- 1 have a desire to 
depart and be tvith Christy which is far 
better/' And not only will we be with 
him, but w^e will be like him : " Beloved, 
now are we the sons of God; and it doth 
not yet appear what we shall be : but we 
know that, when he shall appear, we shall 







MY HOME. 








31 


be like him; 


for 


we 


shall 


see 


him 


as 


he 


is.'' 1 John 


iii. 


2. 













4th. Every desire of our nature will he 
gratified. — Here om^ desires crave wrong 
things, and they ought not to be gratijfied. 
Here they often desire right things, but 
they can not be obtained. But in the 
home above this will never occur; for all 
our desires will be holy, and there will 
always be the means of gratifying them. 
Hence our text does not say merely there 
is joy above, but fullness of joy. Noth- 
ing will be lacking! A complete joy as 
the result of complete redemption from 
sin will be the portion of the saints. 
Here we have joys drop by drop — just 
enough to keep us from fainting as we 
journey onward — but there we will ex- 
perience the fulfillment of the declara- 
tion: ^^ThoLi shalt make them drink of 



32 MY H03IE. 

the river of thy pleasure." Ps. xxxvi. 8. 
Here a single drop out of this river has 
made the weary soul rejoice with joy un- 
speakable, aye. in the midst of tribulation 
even; and, if so, how much better will it 
be to drink out of the river! 'No wonder 
that pilgrims often sing: 

" We speak of the realms of the blest, 
Of that country so bright and so fair; 
And oft are its glories confessed — 
But what must it be to be there? 

" We speak of its pathway of gold, 

Of its walks deck'd with jewels so rare, 
Of its wonders and treasures untold— 
But what must it be to be there? " 

Reader! Is not this inheritance worth 
your acceptance? If so, become a son, 
and then you will be an heir of its glory 
and its bliss ! And this can be done by 
accepting the offered Savior. " To as 



MY HOME. 



33 



many as received him, to them gave he 
power to become the sons of God, even 
to them that believe on his name/' John 
i. 12. 




CHAPTER VI. 



ITS PEACE. 



"He shall enter into peace.'' Isa. Ivii. 2. 

§]N^ old book declares that there is no 
peace to the wicked^ but that they 
^ are like the troubled sea that can not 
rest, and the history of the world proves 
its truth. It is most true they not only 
lack the enjoyment of peace, but like the 
troubled sea they are tossed and lashed 
even to fury. It is no uncommon thing, 
in this sin-stricken world, to find tern-, 
pest-tossed souls in deep anxiety asking, 
" where shall I find rest?" But in heaven 
all is peace. There is no troubled and 
tempest-tossed sea there; but as if to 
prefigure the peace of all heaven's dwell- 
ers, there is said to be there a sea of glass 

(34) 



MY HOME. 35 

" like unto crystal/' and our text declares 
that Tvhen the righteous die, they " enter 
into peace." Yes, there is peace in the 
home above, a peace which the world can 
not give, and which the world can not 
take away, a peace which surpasseth all 
understanding, and which keeps the mind 
and heart. It is a peace with God. 

The carnal mind is enmity against God. 
It is not, and can not be, subject to the 
law, and the result is a perpetual warfare 
— a continual rising up of the affections 
against God. And even in the case of 
those who have been reconciled to God, 
their carnal nature not being fully sancti- 
fied, there is still in some degree a lack 
of peace. With sin in their hearts there 
is distrust, and they can not claim the 
promise: ^^ Thou wilt keep them in per- 
fect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee." 



36 MY HOME. 

But in heaven there are both perfect trust 
and perfect peace with God, because the 
victory over sin has been obtained by all 
its redeemed inhabitants. Then there 
is peace of conscience. 

The Apostle Paul knew the value of 
this blessing, when he said, " Herein do 
I exercise myself, to have a conscience 
void of offense both toward God and 
toward men.'' To have a fiiend to ac- 
cuse us of misconduct Avill rob us of 
peace, and possibly cause restlessness 
and sorrow; how much more when our 
own conscience rises up and whispers, 
You are guilty. The old. fable of the 
ring that contracted on the finger when 
the hand Avas engaged in a wicked act, 
is true of conscience, and there is no way 
of getting it at ease again, but by sprink- 
ling it with the blood of the Redeemer. 



MY HOME. 37 

But all who enter the home above have 
been thus sprinkled from an evil con- 
science, and so they have this peace. 

Then we have peace with our associates. 
Here, like David, we have to mourn that 
the friend in whom we trusted, and with 
whom we took sweet counsel in the house 
of God, has turned against us; or it may 
be our experience is like the Savior him- 
self : we are betrayed by one who was 
accustomed to sit at the table with us. 
Ah, the five enemies of peace flourish 
here and cut oftentimes the best-cemented 
friendships, viz: avarice, ambition, envy, 
anger and pride; but they are unknown 
in heaven, and the peace which reigns 
there is forever unbroken. 

Then, too, there is the peace of secur- 
ity. 

Peace, says a late writer, " is love re- 



38 MY HOME. 

posing." But though we may have love 
on earth, yet little repose for it. Here, 

^'The cross must be borne, 
That the crown may be worn.'* 

But the victory being won peace reigns 
in heaven — a peace, too, that will forever 
be unbroken, for our foes are not merely 
routed — they are shut up in an eternal 
prison-house, and so the peace of secur- 
ity fills the hearts of those who once 
expressed their varied experience thus: 
" We are troubled on every side, yet 
not distressed; we are perplexed, but 
not in despair; persecuted, but not for- 
saken; cast down, but not destroyed. '^ 

Troubled, tempest-tossed soul, do you 
not desire to obtain this blessed peace? 
If you do, listen to the precious promise: 
^^ Being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 



CHAPTER VII. 



ITS HOLINESS. 



i^l 



'^ Grod sitteth upon the throne of his holiness." Ps. 
xlvii. 8. 

LITTLE child, being afraid to enter 
a strange house, " because/' she saw 
'-^ u there was nobody but grown men 
inside/' asked if there was a mother 
there, and when she was told, " Yes, 
there is a mother here,'' she was afraid 
no longer. She felt instinctively that a 
mother would take care of her. So may 
we dismiss all fears respecting our safety 
and our happiness in heaven, when we 
remember that ^^ God's throne of holi- 
ness is there." A holy place must be a 
safe and a happy place. And not only 
so, but there can be no true happiness 

(39) 



40 MY HOME. 

and no real safety where holiness does 
not reign snpreme. 

Let us visit some portion of our globe 
where the moraUzing and sanctifying in- 
fluences of the religion of the Lord Je- 
sus Christ have not yet penetrated, and 
what do we find? An illustration of the 
apostolic maxim: " Evil men and seducers 
wax worse and w^orse! '^ and a place of 
horrid cruelty, just the very opposite of 
what we conceive heaven to be — no holi- 
ness, and consequently no happiness and 
no safety. And still further: Seek out 
some community educated and refined, 
where philosophy, science, poetry and 
literature flourish, but where the inhab- 
itants know nothing of the transforming 
power of the religion of Christ, and you 
will find frivolity, intrigue, envy, etc, 
abounding in their midst; and, just as 



MY HOME. 41 

in the preceding case, withont holiness 
their education and refinement will not 
furnish them either permanent safety or 
present happiness. 

And, if these are facts, heaven must 
have attractions, because it is a place of 
holiness — because God's throne is a 
throne of holiness. 

Besides this, we can appeal to your 
own experience, fellow-sinner! When 
do you feel the happiest and the safest? 
Is it when you have been indulging in 
the frivolities and sinful pleasures of 
earth, or when you have engaged in 
some work of benevolence, commended 
by your conscience and required by the 
precepts of Christianity? "We know 
your answer, and it corresponds with 
Christian experience. 

A careless, reckless sinner was arrested, 



42 MY H03IE. 

just as was persecuting Saul, in the midst 
of his career of wickedness, and made a 
subject of the saving grace of the divine 
Kedeemer. One of his old associates 
met him one day, and said to hun: ^' I 
hear you have given up your pleas- 
ures/' to Avhich he replied: ^^ Oh, no! I 
never knew what true pleasure was until 
now.'' He had only given up its coun- 
terfeit for the reality. And if you ask 
them how they feel about their safety, 
they at once reply: ^^If I look to sinful 
self, I am without hope, but when I look 
to the blood that cleanseth from all sin, 
then I can rejoice with confidence." Yes, 
in holiness there are both happiness and 
safety. Some one has said, that as all 
the primary colors coalesce to make pure 
white, so all the graces of the Spirit 
unite to produce holiness; and Ave would 



MY HOME. 43 

add, as every one of these graces tends 
to save and make happy the human fam- 
ily, so all combined in holiness, they ren- 
der their subjects perfectly safe and happy. 
And, since in the home above all are holy, 
so all are safe and happy. Yes, pilgrims 
journeying on the way can sing: 

"• Sweet tlie home the saints inherit — 
The place of holiness and rest; 
Soon shall we taste its blessed joys, 
And reach its safety and be blest." 

Homeless wanderers in this sin-stricken 
wilderness world, do you not desire to 
obtain this — the home of holiness, and 
therefore of safety and happiness? Then 
listen to the blessed declaration: ^^ In 
my Father's house are many mahsions: 
if it were not so, I would have told you. 
I go to prepare a place for you.'' 



CHAPTEE VIII. 



ITS SOCIETY. 



" But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the 
city of the living Grod, the heavenly Jerusalem, and 
to an innumerable company of angels, to the general 
assembly and church of the firstborn, which are writ- 
ten in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the 
spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the 
mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of 
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of 
Abel." Heb. xii. 22-24. 

(^ f^H, if I had only moral courage 
I enough to break away from my 
companions^ for they are dragging 
me to ruin!'' said a young man, a few 
days ago; and, in thus speaking, he ex- 
pressed. a well-known truth, viz: that our 
character and happiness depend very much 
on those with whom we are associated. 
And this is true in our religious associ- 

(44) 



MY HOME. 45 

ations as well as in the daily affairs of 
life. Hence the Psalmist's experience: 
" I was glad when they said unto me. Let 
us go into the house of the Lord/' and 
his sad complaint that not an enemy, but 
his equal, his guide and his acquaintance, 
had turned against him; showing that 
both joy and sorrow came to him in con- 
sequence of the conduct of his associ- 
ates. Ah! how often do the friendships 
and the associations of earth furnish such 
examples — filling their subjects Avith sor- 
row, and condemning them to days and 
nights of suffering; and when the iron 
has entered their soul, they leave them to 
meditate on the truth of the declaration: 
" Evil communications corrupt good man- 
ners." 

But in the dwelling-place above there 
are no corrupting associations and no 



46 MY HOME. 

broken friendships. The society there 
are incapable of any hurtful action. They 
arCj as our text teaches^ angels^ an innu- 
merable company; the redeemed of the 
Lord — those who had while yet on earth 
their names written in heaven; the spir- 
its of just men made perfect; God, the 
Judge of all, and Jesus, the Mediator of 
the new covenant. What a glorious 
company, and all the more glorious that 
the prefix " holy " belongs to all their 
names. 

If we could gather together in one 
grand assembly room all the able di- 
vines, philosophers, statesmen, princes 
and kings of earth, who would not deem 
himself honored by admission to such an 
assembly? Yet, what would such an as- 
sembly be compared with the one spoken 
of in our text? How puny the character 



MY HOME. 47 

and how meager the attainments, and how 
low the station of the members in com- 
parison with the assembly in heaven, 
where even the humblest are kings and 
priests unto Grod, and shall reign with 
him forever! And how meager the en- 
tertainment in comparison with that 
which will be famished in the society 
above! Well might Baxter write: 

" How delightful to have heard Paul 
and Silas singing in the stocks! How 
much more to hear them sing praises in 
heaven! What melody did David make 
on his harp; but how much more melo- 
dious to hear that sweet singer in the 
heavenly choir! What would I have 
given for one hour of free converse with 
Paul when he w^as just come down from 
the third heaven! What if I had been 
in the place of those shepherds who saw 



48 MY HOME. 

and heard the heavenly host shiging glory 
to God in the highest, and on earth peace 
and good-will toward men; but I shall 
see and hear more glorious things." 

But, when John's vision is personally 
realized, it will be a more glorious scene. 
"I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which 
no man could number, of all nations, and 
kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood 
before the throne, and before the Lamb, 
clothed with white robes, and palms in 
their hands; and cried with a loud voice, 
saying. Salvation to our God which sit- 
teth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 
And all the angels stood round about the 
throne, and about the elders and the four 
beasts, and fell before the throne on their 
faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen : 
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and 
thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and 



MY HOME. 49 

might, be unto our God for ever and ever. 
Amen. And one of the elders answered^ 
saying unto me^ What are these which 
are arrayed in white robes? and Avhence 
came they? And I said unto him. Sir, 
thou knowest. And he said to me, These 
are they which came out of great tribu- 
lation, and have washed their robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb. Therefore are they before the 
throne of God, and serve him day and 
night in his temple : and he that sitteth 
on the throne shall dwell among them. 
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst 
any more; neither shall the sun light on 
them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which 
is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living 
fountains of waters; and God shall wipe 
away all tears from their eyes.'' 



50 MY HOME. 

Fellow-sinner! this noble army is not 
yet full. The Lord Jesus Christ, its Cap- 
tain, still wishes recruits, and, to encour- 
age them to come and enlist, he has an- 
nounced as the principle by which his 
selections are governed: " llim that com- 
eth to me, I will in no wise cast out; " so 
that you, too, dear reader, may become a 
member of that blessed society — wear a 
white robe, and carry a palm in your hand 
before the throne. Listen! the voice even 
now is to you: ^^ Come unto me all ye 
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest.'' 



CHAPTER IX. 



ITS WORK. 



|HILE yet our first parents dwelt in 
Eden, and before sin had passed its 
trail over its holy enjoy ments, they 
lived in a state of activity. God made 
trees, for food and for pleasure, to grow 
out of the ground; at the same time 
work was found for man: ^^He must 
keep and dress the garden." Gen. ii. 
8-25. We are formed for activity, and 
our highest joys are found in the exer- 
cise of the faculties that God has given. 
A rest from labor is onlv a neofative 
pleasure — positive joys spring from the 
proper use of our bodies and our minds. 
Indeed, indolence is sinful. It is con- 
demned by the Scriptures, and it is there- 



52 MY HOME. 

fore impossible to conceive that it could 
furnish happiness. Sin and sorrow are 
united together by the unchanging laws 
of God. It therefore follows that heaven 
is a place of activity. There is there a 
work for all to do! Hence we have such 
declarations as the following concerniiig 
the dwellers there: '^They serve him day 
and night in his temple; '^ " They sing the 
song of Moses and the Lamb;'' ^'They 
follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." 
What their special work is we can not 
tell, but we know that one object of the 
Church on earth is, " That now unto the 
principalities and powers in heavenly 
places might be known, hy the (7/mrc/?, 
the manifold wisdom of God." And if 
the glorious attributes of God are to be 
shown forth by the Church on earth, it is 
easy to infer that in its purified and tri- 



MY HOME. 53 

umphal state in heaven it may be em- 
ployed in the same work. Indeed, this 
may be the meaning of the Apostle's 
declaration: ^'And hath raised ns np to- 
gether and made us sit together in heav- 
enly places in Christ Jesns; that in the 
ages to come he might show the exceed- 
ing riches of his grace, in his kindness 
toward ns through Christ Jesus.'' If so, 
then one of the services in wdiich the re- 
deemed will be engaged will be the ex- 
hibiting the glorious character of God as 
revealed in the plan of redemption. 

Another part of their woi'k will be 
adding to their own stock of knowledge. 
Even now the bliss of heaven is increased 
by the increase of its knowledge : " There 
is joy in the presence of the angels over 
one sinner that repenteth." A message 
from our little planet concerning penitent 



54 MY HOME. 

souls sends a wave of joy around the 
courts of Paradise; and the Savior said, 
when on earth, to his disciples: '^What 
thou knowest not now thou shalt know 
hereafter." Then, too, it is written: 
^^Here we see through a gkiss, darkly; 
but then face to face.'' Yes, our knowl- 
edge will be increased in the home above, 
and, in accordance with the law of our 
nature, its increase will be gradual. Day 
by day we will make progress. Here, in 
this sin-stricken earth, we dwell in igno- 
rance; there floods of light and knowl- 
edge will be reflected upon us from the 
throne of God, so that we can say, in a 
higher sense than the Psalmist: " In thy 
light shall we see light clearly.'' l^ov 
will our increased and increasing knowl- 
edge be distorted, as is often the case 
here, to teach unworthy views of God 



MY HOME. 55 

and his redeeming grace, but, on the con- 
trary, it will tend to make our notes of 
praise sweeter and clearer when we sing, 
" Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to 
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 
and strength, and honor, and glory, and 
blessing.'^ Ignorance is one of the pen- 
alties of sin. We are alienated from the 
life of God through the ignorance that is 
in us. " The natural man receiveth not 
the things of the Spirit of God: for they 
are foolishness unto him: neither can he 
know them, because they are spiritually 
discerned." But being free from sin 
we will make progress in divine knowl- 
edge surpassing anythhig of which we 
have experience on earth. We will be 
no longer babes, having need of milk, 
but we will be able to comprehend many 
of the mysteries which have perplexed 



56 MT HOME. 

the wisest minds on earth, and with the 
increase of our knowledge our joy will 
abound. 

But not only will the saints exhibit the 
glorious character of God ^Ho principali- 
ties and powers in heavenly places/' 
and devote themselves to an increase 
of knowledge; they will also celebrate 
the victories in which they were engaged 
on earth. Earth and the triumphs of the 
Redeemer will not be forgotten in the 
dwelling-place above — accordingly, we 
read that John, in vision, saw around the 
throne, and before the Lamb, a great mul- 
titude, w^hich no man could number, of all 
nations, and kindreds, and people, and 
tongues, clothed with white robes, and 
palms in their hands, and they cried with 
a loud voice, saying: ^^ Salvation unto 
our Lord, which sitteth upon the throne; 



MY HOME. 57 

and unto the Lamb." These are the me- 
morial banners which bring back to mind 
our warfare and the Savior's glorious tri- 
umph on earth. The song was first be- 
gun by Abel and is well described in the 
words : 

" Ten thousand times ten thousand sung 
Loud anthems round the throne, 
When lo ! one solitary tongue 
Began a song unknown — 
A song unknown to angel ears, 
A song that told of banished fears, 
Of pardoned sins and dried-up tears. 

'^ Not one of all the heavenly host 
Could those high notes attain ; 
But spirits from a distant coast 
United in the strain; 
Till he who first began the song 
(To siDg alone not suffered long) 
Was mingled with a countless throng. 

"And still, as hours are fleeting by, 
The angels ever bear 
Some newly ransomed so il on high. 
To join the chorus there. 



58 MY HOME. 

And so the song will louder grow 
Till all whom Christ redeemed below 
To meet the Lord in triumph go." 

Yes, the past will be remembered, and 
all the sweeter will om^ enjoyments be 
when we recall the tribulation through 
which we entered the kingdom. Here 
we often weary, if not of our work, at 
least in our work, and we sigh for rest; 
but the work above is a rest itself — so 
congenial to our nature, so divested of 
the elements which constituted the pen- 
alty of sin, that it becomes an enjoyment, 
and we can " serve day and niglit^^ and 
never be weary. So that Ave can say, 
concerning the employments of heaven, 
as well as of its joys: ^^ Eye hath not 
seen, ear hath not heard, nor hath it en- 
tered into the heart to conceive what God 
hath laid up for those who love him.'' 



I 



MY HOME. 59 

Fellow-sinner, would you not desire to 
engage in such pleasant work? Have 
you no desire to exhibit the glorious 
character of God in the ages to come? 
Iffo wish to make new discoveries of the 
grace, and truth, and gloiy of the God 
who gave Jesus? 'No aspiration after a 
place among that company who carry the 
banners and sing the song of the Lamb., 
and who are led by him " to living foun- 
tains of waters?'' We trust you have 
these desires and aspirations, and we 
want to whisper in your ear the words 
of the Savior himself: "I counsel thee 
to buy of me gold, that thou mayest be 
rich, and white raiment, that thou may- 
est be clothed;" for with this gold and 
this raiment you will be accepted a mem- 
ber of this blessed company, and heir of 
this glorious inheritance. 



CHAPTER X. 



ITS HEALTHFULNESS. 



"The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick." Tsa. 
xxxiii. 24. 

fllHE prophet's description of a sinful 
y| nation — a people laden with iniquity 
^^ — is a true one: ^^ From the sole of 
the foot even to the head there is no 
soundness in it; but wounds and bruises 
and putrefying sores." Ah! it is true 
sin and sickness and death are united to- 
gether by a law of God. Hence, in this 
sin-stricken world, sickness and death 
are the portion of all its inhabitants. 
Every inhabitant, with more or less fre- 
quency, is heard to declare, " I am sick.'' 
But there is a land free from tlie blight 
of sin; it is the land to which I am heir, 

(60) 



MY HOME. 61 

a joiiit-heir with Christ. There is my 
inheritance, and " The inhabitant shall 
not say, I am sick.'^ Here I have often 
been sick, and, as a conseqnence, ^' weary, 
worn and sad; '' and if not sick from the 
miasma which sin produces, I have been 
homesick for my Father's house above- 
And others have a like experience; for 
sickness is not congenial to our nature — 
it is the penalty of sin, and it presses 
lieavy on its subjects. 

Frequently have we heard the expres- 
sions, " JN^ow property is cheap, but I 
would not settle in that neighborhood, it 
is so sickly/' " I never knew the value 
of health until laid on this bed of sick- 
ness. If I ever recover, how carefully 
shall I watch over my health! " And we 
know that many fortunes have been spent 
seeking health. This climate and that 



62 MY HOME. 

climate have been tried, and this medi- 
cine and that J and often without avail; 
day by day the weary patient sinks, and 
finally the cold hand of death snatches 
away the cherished life. Surrounded by 
such scenes of sufiering and sorrow, how 
sweet to think there is a land where no 
sickness ever enters! Yes, it is — 

^' Sweet, in the confidence of faith. 
To view the land above — 
The land where sickness is unknown^ 
And all is health and love." 

And so universal is sickness in this 
sin-stricken world, that even the loved 
ones of the Savior are not exempted from 
it. In every age and country there are 
Marys and Marthas that can say, as well 
as the sisters of Bethany, '' Lord, behold, 
he whom thou lovest is sick.'' And, 
worse still, our moral is just as truly sick 



MY HOME. 63 

as our physical nature. Around us and 
in our bodies there is every form of sick- 
ness and suffering. Within us there is 
that body of death, which presses so 
heavily upon us that it often paralyzes 
us, and leaves us in despair to cry out, as 
did the Apostle Paul, ^^Who shall deliver 
me?" And we are so sick that there is 
only one Physician who can cure us — 
only one antidote that can restore us. It 
is " the blood of the Crucified One." But 
in the land of health above all are cured 
— all know from experience the meaning 
of our text, ''The inhabitant shall not 
say, I am sick." 

Reader, do you not desire a dwelling- 
place in this healthy abode? You know 
there is no enjoyment without health, and 
here is the only place where it is truly 
found. Surely, your response will be: 



64 MY HOME. 

" Yes, above everything else, I covet 
a habitation in that blissful, healthful 
home." If so, let me whisper in your 
ear, " The people that dwell therein have 
been forgiven their iniquity.'' Get your 
sins washed away m Jesus' blood, and 
you shall be a dweller there. All for- 
given ones are made heirs of this glori- 
ous inheritance. 




CHAPTEK XI. 



ITS PERPETUITY. 



/^ 



"They shall reign forever and ever." Rev. xxii. 5. 

IFTEIVTTIMES have we heard the re- 
mark concerning the condition of the 
more fortunate of earth's inhabitants: 
"It is too good to last long." '^Such hap- 
piness can not be long continued in a 
world of change like this." ziVnd how 
true are these expressions! " Change 
and decay " are, indeed, written on ev- 
erything pertaining to earth. INTot only 
do pilgrims Zionward declare: "Here we 
have no continning city; " but those who 
claim this as their home are obliged to 
confess that here "there is no abiding 
place." But in the home beyond, which 

(65) 



6Q MY HOME. 

I claim for my inheritance, there is no 
decay. Possessions are all held in per- 
petuity , and their possessors shall " reign 
forever and ever.'' 

Rutherford was accustomed to say: 
" Till you be in heaven, it will be foul 
weather — one shower up and another 
shower down;" i. e.. darkness and 
change can be read on all things be- 
low! But what matters it? There is a 
city that hath foundations so surely laid 
that they will endure forever. There is a 
kingdom so large and so abiding, that it 
can truly be said: Her kings and priests 
" shall reign forever and ever.'' And it 
the reason is asked, we reply: ^' The 
causes of change and decay are not found 
there." Here kings and emperors reign 
but very short periods. Death comes 
and robs them of their crown! Eevolu- 



MY HOME. 67 

tions are inaugurated and governments 
changed, and the possessors of crowns 
often driven into exile, and it is all pro- 
duced by the upheavals of the volcano 
sin! Here, too, in consequence of sin's 
curse, the whole creation groaneth and 
travaileth in pain (Rom. viii. 22), until 
the deliverance comes, viz: the destruc- 
tion of the work of the devil by the Lord 
Jesus Christ. But in heaven there are 
no traces of this wasting, corroding 
thing — all is holiness to the Lord; and, 
therefore, perpetuity is written upon all 
its possessions and institutions, aye, and 
upon all its inhabitants. Hence, they 
shall enjoy its honors and do its work 
"forever and ever.'' 

Dear reader, do you not desire an in- 
terest in this abiding inheritance? You 
know how it is with earthly possessions 



68 MY HOME. 

— "thej take wings and fly away; '' and 
it ever will be so^ for we are here in a 
state of probation — here to prepare for 
another and a better world; but if we 
fail to obtain this preparation, then we 
pass to a world of unspeakable, un- 
changeable despair. 

On the other hand, secure through the 
blessed Savior an interest in this glorious 
inheritance, and when you see the much- 
coveted possessions of earth passing from 
your grasp, you can in triumph exclaim : 
" For we know that if our earthly house 
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we 
have a building of Grod, a house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens.'' 
2 Cor. V. 1. 



CHAPTER XII. 



ITS GLORY. 



" Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and after- 
ward receive me to glory/' Ps. Ixxiii. 24. 

fES, glorious things have been spoken 
^i of the City of God, and as an heir 
of God and a joint-heir with Christ, 
I shall dwell in one of its glorious man- 
sionSj and be able to say of its exceeding 
glory: ^^ It is my inheritance/ for my 
Father owns it all.'^ True, I do not 
claim to be worthy of such a dwelling- 
place, nor of such a position as every son 
of God will occupy in that blessed land; 
but I know that it is true that my Father 
will " guide me by his counsel, and after- 
ward receive me to glory/' 

But what shall I say of the glory of 

(69) 



70 MY HOME. 

this inheritance, that I may recommend 
it to my fellow-men? Paul saw more of 
its glory than any other man; yet all he 
could say of it was: '* Eye hath not seen, 
nor ear heard^ neither have entered into 
the heart of man, the things which God 
hath prepared for them that love him/' 
Yet the time is coming when my eye, 
yes, and your eye, fellow-traveler to 
eternity, if an heir of God, will see 
those glorious things which your heart 
can not now conceive, nor the tongue de- 
scribe. 

"We can not fully understand the de- 
scription we here have of heavenly glory, 
and yet the half has not been told. Just 
think of it! A glorious city, with gates 
of pearl, walls of precious stones, and 
streets of gold — figures, doubtless — but 
if they mean anything at all, it is that 



MY HOME. 71 

the ISTew Jerusalem above is indeed a 
city far more glorious than anything ever 
conceived of by man. ISTor is this all — 
it is a city nightless, sorrowless and sin- 
less, and without a temple; for '^ The 
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are 
the temple of it.'' 

Yes, there is no night there, nor weary 
limbs calling for rest, and no devotees of 
Mammon ready with the morning light 
to urge to weary toil. 'No sorrow, for 
God himself has wiped the tears from 
the eyes of every dweller there, so that 
they will never flow again; but, better 
still, no sin there to blight and blast the 
hopes, steal away the enjoyment of its 
subjects, and alienate from the love and 
favor of God; but, on the contrary, its 
inhabitants are all pure in heart, see God, 
and enjoy sweet communion with him. 



72 MY HOME. 

Hence, it is written : '' The glory of God 
did light it, and the Lamb is the light 
thereof ; " and, " In thy presence is full- 
ness of joy/' 

Dear reader, do you not desire a place 
in this glorious city? Surely, its glory 
is worth seeking after. The hope of it 
has cheered the hearts of many weary 
travelers as they passed on their journey 
here below. David sang: " Goodness 
and mercy have followed me all the days 
of my life, and I shall dwell in the house 
of the Lord "forever ; " and so may you. 
Walk no longer on the broad way which 
ends in darkness and death; escape to 
the narrow way which ends in that glori- 
ous place which Ave have just been de- 
scribing, where beauty, stability, happi- 
ness, rest, enjoyment, peace, holiness, 
healthfulness, perpetuity and glory, all 



1 



MY HOME. 73 

are found. The Savior who led me thus 
far, "all along my pilgrim way/' waits to 
lead you. Listen to his voice: "Come 
unto me all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest/' 




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